Part 3: Leave No Stone Unturned
Leaving no stone unturned means trying everything possible, using all practical means, or leaving nothing untried when trying to achieve something.
Here are two examples:
(1) "The detectives promised they would leave no stone unturned in their search for Fred's killers."
(2) "Both sides said they would leave no stone unturned in their efforts to end the dispute."
The earliest-known use of the phrase is in an ancient Greek myth about the Persian/Greek wars of the Fifth Century BC. King Xerxes I of Persia wanted to control the Mediterranean; so, in 480 BC, his army invaded Greece. General Mardonius commanded the Persian army, and it captured several Greek city-states.
However, in 479 BC, the Greeks regrouped, defeated the Persians, and killed General Mardonius. Afterwards, a rumour spread throughout Greece that General Mardonius hid a treasure under his tent or close to it before he died.
Trusting the rumour, Polycrates of Athens bought the site and hired men to dig it in search of the treasure. When they did not find it, he consulted the Oracle of Delphi for advice on what he should do to find it.
"Look under every stone," replied the Oracle. "Leave no stone unturned," he said.
From then on, if someone spared no effort, trouble, or expense to achieve something, he or she is said to have left no stone unturned.
